Fannie Mae to punish people who walk away from a mortgage that they could still pay (Strategic defaults)
One of the sanctions is that Fannie Mae will refuse to buy a mortgage by anyone who had strategically defaulted for 7 years. This could have a big impact on a person's ability to get a loan if Freddie Mac adopts the same policy and the two companies still dominate the secondary market 7 years from now. However, if the companies are shut down, as many people advocate (perhaps more will now), then this sanction will be meaningless.
Fannie's secondary-market ban is not part of that contract. It may be (almost certainly is) aimed at stopping people from strategically defaulting on mortgages that Fannie already owns.
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BUSINESS
Analysts Question a Threat by Fannie
By DAVID STREITFELD
Published: June 24, 2010
Experts wondered what Fannie Mae, the mortgage finance giant, hoped to achieve by announcing it would punish owners who strategically defaulted.
See also (Dean Baker), WSJ NICK TIMIRAOS, Felix Salmon, Ezra, Clusterstock / Atlantic / McMegan.